Favourite / most impressive audio store

Mine does not exist anymore (although it is still there I hear). It was the original Audio Labs in West Des Moines, IA and the owner was Harry (can't recall his last name). Maybe his son Elli (?, it's been 30 years) is running it now, I don't know for sure. Harry was a great guy and never objected to hooking anything up together for a listen (no matter how odd). One day we were running the little B&O (don't laugh, he carried this line as well as many others) S45's with a huge Harmon Kardon power amp (the biggest they made in 72 or 73) to see if the speakers would handle it (kind of like playing with army men:-). They did and sounded quite good (better than they should have) on light classical and he kept it setup for awhile. His staff once spent a couple of days setting up a pair of huge expensive column speakers (on which each of the many drivers were individually adjustable) with pink noise generators and such. Following that he allowed me to adjust them by ear (maybe he did not really like his staff that much as they all looked like they were going to puke:-). After my neighbor (an electrician) passed away he helped to maintain my tube equipment, always for a minimal shop charge plus parts. I never had much money to spend, but it did not seem to matter to him as he just enjoyed fussing with gear like we all do and sharing the experience with others. He did do a good business at the time as it was the only game in town for high end audio

Progressive Audio in Columbus, Ohio. Three floors of equipment, 15 listening rooms, equipment to fit every budget, and the a very helpful and courtious staff. I have delt with them for years, and think nothing of making the 2 hour drive from Cincinnati. If you are in the midwest, check them out.

Rob,s store is cool.He hosted the first meeting of the Toronto Audiophile group.A great time was had by all.
My personal favorite is Alternative Audio in Dundas,Ontario
Mike Oddie and Phil are great guys.No presure and lots of great tube gear.If your in the Southern Ontario area its worth a 2 hour drive at least.
Arthur Salvatore,s High End Audio is worth a visit its a little further out in the beaches,an unique experience.
Rickey at Audio Exellence is very genourous with his time as well on Bayview in Richmond Hill.
Audio Oasis in the old Junction area has a great assortment of vintage tube gear.

I second ALTERNATIVE AUDIO it is the best high-end audio store i been to.And i have been to many,and the best store to get truthful advise and great deals.Its worth the drive no matter where you are coming from/Also they have a great web page

Gotta throw my two cents in for Goodwin's High End in Waltham, MA. Didn't even know they were here when I moved to town. They carry really high-end stuff (I've heard the Dynaudio Evidences there at $85,000, as well as the Martin Logan Statements at $70,000), most of which I can't even identify. Even though I'm at the level where I'll buy a $2500 CD player, I'm in there quite frequently to listen to unrealistically expensive stuff. They're terrific about it. They're very knowledgeable, generous with their time and their demos, and very low-pressure. It's brought me back to using dealers for certain things. Also, I keep having the same repeated experience. I'll be on the phone with technical support (e.g. Theta, CAL, Classe, REL), and when I tell them what part of the country I'm calling from, they say (off the top of their head), "Have you been to Goodwin's High End?" The REL techie in California even knew to recommended them! They're about 15 miles west of Boston, MA, and they do stock used stuff.